England caused a stir on social media on Monday evening with the release of a short clip showing George Ford hoisting high kicks for his team-mates.
The receiving players executed their catches under distraction with team-mates waving lengths of foam in their faces as they jumped to catch the call.
A pre-cursor of what’s to come on Saturday?
The box kick has been a key tactic for Joe Schmidt’s Ireland in recent seasons – with scrum-half Conor Murray considered a master of the art.
For his part, England head coach Eddie Jones is a keen practitioner of pre-match psychological warfare – and he did promise Schmidt a few ‘grenades’ at the Guinness Six Nations launch at The Hurlingham a week ago.
Whether the latest clip is a deliberate nudge aimed at Ireland or an innocent insight into the goings on in camp remains to be seen.
Tune to our live blog of Jones’ team announcement on Thursday when it’s sure to be one of the topics up for discussion.
